How tax breaks power the PGA Tour, a nonprofit organization

Explore the PGA Tour's tax filings

The PGA Tour has been a nonprofit since it split from the PGA of America in 1968 and is required by law to publicly file its Form 990. This ProPublica interactive explores the publicly available tax information about the PGA Tour, including reports of first-class flights and notable sources of revenue.

The story behind the PGA's civil war

In the 1960s, there was a war brewing within the PGA between the golf pros and the touring pros. Eventually, tensions boiled over into courtrooms, leading to the creation of a new league. This Golf.com article provides a deep history of the war, with in-depth interviews with key players in the negotiations.

The story behind the formation of the original PGA

The early 1900s saw a surge in golf courses across America, and there was a need for a national organization of golf professionals to help promote and grow the sport. This history explores how department store heir Rodman Wanamaker organized a luncheon that led to the formation of the PGA of America.

Analyzing the PGA Tour's leaderboard

In 2007, the PGA Tour introduced the FedEx Cup, marking the first time men's pro golf had a playoff system. This PGA Tour interactive shows the Cup standings year-to-date, along with video and news updates. Click on a player's name and get a detailed page about their career, including total wins, scorecards from recent matches, and what clubs are in their bag.

Examining golf's problems with race

In 1961, the PGA removed the "Caucasian-only" membership clause, marking the last major professional sports organization to desegregate. But unlike other sports, golf didn't see an influx of Black players following the change. This article from The Ringer's Lex Pryor examines golf's complicated history with race and gender, showing both the progress made and the challenges that remain.

Breaking down the golf world's 4 'major' tournaments

The PGA Tour features over 30 tournaments per year, but none are as important as the four majors: the Masters, the PGA Championship, the US Open, and the Open Championship. This Golf Monthly article dives into each major and the courses it is played on, including the traditions each weekend brings to the Tour.

Exploring why the PGA Tour's rivalry with LIV seems to have cooled

This analysis by Dan Wetzel suggests that LIV's initial threat to the PGA Tour's dominance in golf has faded, with several golfers leaving LIV to return to the PGA Tour.

Only 156 players secure a PGA Tour Card each year

Automatic eligibility is granted to past PGA Championship winners, while newcomers must win a PGA-approved tournament, rank in the top 70 of the FedEx Cup standings, or finish in the top 30 of the Korn Ferry Tour finals.

The Original Nine paved the way for the WTA

In the late 1960s, men earned 2-3 times as much per tournament as women did. With professional tennis largely run by men, the women didn't have leverage. That prompted nine women to break away and form their own tournament, which in turn led to a dedicated tour the following year. This paved the way for the WTA, and eventually equal pay at Majors.

The NBA and its players donate the fines from technical fouls to various charities

The "Fined and Philanthropic" initiative, a grant-matching program from the National Basketball Players' Association, directs the funds toward charitable organizations.

In 1931-32, JP Morgan Jr. paid no income taxes due to his company’s losses

This legally reduced his taxable income under existing laws. Similarly, the Rockefellers leveraged charitable foundations to minimize taxes, allowing them to preserve wealth while directing funds to their preferred causes.

Comic-Con is a nonprofit organization

San Diego Comic‑Con International launched in 1970 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit aimed at promoting public appreciation for comics and related arts. All proceeds fund programming such as Comic‑Con, WonderCon, and the Comic‑Con Museum.

The complicated economics of horse racing

The Triple Crown commands big ratings (and enormous amounts of money in betting) but the sport as a whole is in a precarious position, thanks to limited tracks and an overreliance on subsidies. This special from Freakonomics unpacks what all that means for the future of the sport.

Congress plays baseball together in a bipartisan charity game dating back to 1909

First organized in 1909 by Rep. John Tener, a former pro baseball player, the Congressional Baseball Game pits Democrats against Republicans to raise money for charity—and offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at lawmakers mixing rivalry with camaraderie.

S&P Global, the company that makes the S&P 500, is listed on the S&P 500

When the S&P 500 index was released in 1957, it was helpful for investors, but not necessarily profitable. S&P Global now makes more than $1B a year just from selling its index data. Alongside its other services, like credit ratings, S&P Global makes more than $14B a year.

The NFL makes most of its money through media licensing deals

The NFL, which reportedly earned more than $20B in 2023, generates its revenue through several key streams. The largest comes from media licensing deals, where networks and streaming platforms pay billions for the rights to broadcast games. Corporate sponsorships are another major contributor.

Most pensions are subject to federal income taxes

Those taxes kick in once someone starts taking distributions from their pension. Whether a pension is subject to state income taxes depends on the state and other factors. Learn more about how pensions are taxed in this article.

Tax policy can have a direct impact on the national debt

Past presidents' changes to tax codes have inflated the deficit. An expert on the topic explains the interplay between policy and the national budget while debunking 10 tax-related myths in this podcast.

How Guinness World Records has pivoted to a publicity business

Now that Guinness World Records gets paid to host record-breaking events, is there a conflict of interest? Here's a look at the worldwide record keeping business's pivot toward publicity.

For-profit schools are not beholden to educational missions

While many private schools are nonprofit organizations, beholden to their missions and boards, some are for-profit entities owned by private individuals or corporations. In some cases, these institutions offer substandard courses and award unaccredited degrees.

Why donors love to give to the wealthy schools

In this podcast episode of Revisionist History, Malcolm Gladwell explores why Hank Rowan’s $100 million gift to a small New Jersey college didn’t inspire others to support underfunded schools. Instead, donors continue to flock to elite institutions like Harvard and Stanford. “My Little Hundred Million” examines ways ideology and prestige have reshaped educational giving.

The 'playing card' and 'blueberry' taxes are among the strangest around the world

In Canada, companies making children’s breakfast cereals are granted a tax exemption if their cereal boxes contain free toys. While the exemption is limited to toys that are not “beer, liquor, or wine,” the cereal tax is far from the world's most eccentric tax.

How Google Street View generates profit

Google Maps, one of the most trusted navigation applications today, has a somewhat mysterious way of making a profit. YouTuber Phil Edwards uncovers the secret economic practices of Google Street View, while also offering a deeper understanding of how it works.

As oil revenues decline, many Gulf States are investing in professional sports through sovereign wealth funds

Gulf States—including the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia—have invested tens of billions of dollars in professional sports, owning high-profile soccer clubs like Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City. Many of these investments have been characterized as an increase in these countries' soft power, or global cultural influence, in Western countries, where the Middle East remains relatively misunderstood.

The Eras Tour generated $2B in ticket sales, but $5B in consumer spending

Taylor Swift has achieved such high-profile status, her music and tours influence a broad swath of industries, communities, and economies. “Swiftonomics” is the term used to describe how Taylor’s tours, merchandise sales, and brand boost everything from local business receipts to tourism in a community.

Calculate how much of your tax dollars go to each federal program based on your income, filing status, and number of children

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The power and influence of the American presidency have expanded significantly over time—far beyond what the founders envisioned.

Up to a million Girl Scouts sell about 200 million cookie boxes every spring, generating $800 million, largely because refusing a child is frowned upon

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

The 1987 Nintendo video game 'Stadium Events' isn't known for being particularly fun, but its scarcity has made it a highly sought-after item that has sold for up to $35K at auction.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

SpongeBob exemplifies Aristotle's philosophy for living well because he understands that happiness doesn't come from external factors like money, recognition, or power.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

See how Budweiser's famous Clydesdales spend their days at Warm Springs Ranch, where roughly 70 to 80 of the beer brand's giant horses can be found at any given time.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

One of the most famous portraits ever taken is 'Afghan Girl' (1984) by Steve McCurry, yet the subject Sharbat Gula went much of her life without being identified or benefitting from the image's success.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.